The problem I'm having with this question is that almost nothing I've seen strictly applies, because I work the other way round. I assume I want to see EVERYTHING, then I weed shows out when they don't sound interesting enough, as opposed to waiting to see what does sound interesting before adding it onto The List.
But I suppose
Henry V is probably the ultimate. I was on an autograph-collecting mission for my sister, and it was going SO well that when we realised we could complete the set with a quick trip to Stratford, we bit the bullet and booked even though neither of us were what you could call Shakespeare fans. You can guess the rest, right?
I guess other shows I've loved, having booked on little more than free time and a whim, could include
The Woman in Black,
The 39 Steps,
Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Donmar,
Zorro,
The Music Man in Chichester,
Arcadia, and
Red.
Anything that's not on The List but gets seen on a whim usually disappoints; it often turns out I was right to not leave it on The List in the first place! Still, I haven't seen anything that was TOTALLY beyond redemption. Even the diabolically unenjoyable
Absurd Person Singular served as a handy warning to consider avoiding Ayckbourn in future.
Gone with the Wind made
Fram enjoyable in comparison.
Ernie Get Your Gun Too Close to the Sun was HILARIOUS once the second half kicked off.
Pains of Youth was a rare opportunity to appreciate Katie Mitchell's direction even though the play was insanely dull and the characters were ridiculously unlikable. ^_^
Updated On: 3/15/10 at 06:35 AM
